Over 140,000 Australians received a cancer diagnosis last year and nearly 50,000 lost their lives. Despite early detection of cancer and access to specialist cancer been proven to improve cancer survival rates, recent data shows 7 million Australians who live in rural and remote areas continue to have difficulty accessing specialist health services.
This commitment from Labor recognises the significant emotional and social burden cancer patients often face due to financial implications and the disruption and dislocation of long distance travel and time spent away from family and work.